


Destiny and Miracles

by musesmistress



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-14
Updated: 2013-02-14
Packaged: 2017-11-29 06:20:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 22,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/683814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musesmistress/pseuds/musesmistress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While on a vacation meant to fix their failing marriages, Jethro and Kate, and Tony and Ziva, find themselves stranded on a deserted island, thinking back to the events that had brought them to this point.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written with a friend from livejournal.

North Atlantic Ocean – Day 12, 18:55 (the journey home)  
On board The Miracle – The Bridge  
The captain of the Miracle cruise ship picked his coffee up without looking at the mug, his attention was firmly on the horizon ahead of them, the strange streaks of red and gray clouds seemed to be mixing into something that promised to be either a beautiful evening sky or a storm of rain and lightning. At the very least. It didn’t worry him, he’d taken ships into storms before and come out the other side with nothing more than a soaked crew and weather worn vessel. And the cruise ships were harder to tug in the wrong direction, heavier and sturdier and with additional balances that prevented storms from just washing them over.

Still, the hairs at the back of his neck pricked uneasily and his wife’s warnings about storms along the coast of Miami suddenly made him shiver. He pushed the thought aside, he was after all, just being paranoid. His wife was always paranoid, reading horoscopes and wasting money on fortune tellers, the last of which told her to expect a death in the family before the end of the week. Well it was Sunday already and nothing had happened. He turned to check the status of the ships systems; everything looked good, as it always did, not that anything could go really wrong. He was, after all, the captain of the most state of the art cruise ship around. Months of testing and no issues and now here he was on their first trip. It came with everything, pin point global positioning, satellite overview and that new ship smell – which was oddly like the new car smell, only with added salt water.

He picked up the do-hicky and changed the screen to the satellite weather view and drummed his fingers on the back of it as he waited for the images to download. His eyes scan the screen, the area of around 40 Kilometers pops up and for most of the space all he can see is cloud. Dark, swirling, ominously looking cloud. His heart skipped a beat and for a moment all he could do was stare at the patched of light gray lingering dangerously close to their location. The door to his right opened and warm breeze slithered in around the man who entered and he turned in time to watch the man shake a few splatters of rain off his jacket.

“Mr. Allen?” he said, nodding to the man.

“Captain,” Joseph nodded back. “It’s starting to rain, sir.”

“I can see that,” he said with a half hearted smile. “Anything else to report?”

“No, sir. Checked in with all departments after dinner, everything’s in perfect working ord...” He trailed off as his eyes settled on the monitor still hosting the weather report. “That doesn’t look good,” he said.

“No it doesn’t,” the Captain said pausing to stare at the clouds again. “Have the crew at ready one, lock down all possible items, and have engineering slow our speed by half until we’re through.”

“Yes, sir.”

~*~

_DiNozzo house, Washington – Six Months Earlier  
Tony crept quietly through the house. He knew that he was in trouble; he had promised Ziva that he would be home at ten and it was now three. Feeling his way, he slowly moved around the couch, avoiding the squeaky floorboards. Suddenly, he heard the light click on and he whipped around, only to see Ziva sitting in the chair in her nightgown and robe._

_“Honey,” Tony proclaimed, sweat breaking out on his brow. “There was traffic and I,” Tony began but Ziva narrowed her eyes and he shut up._

_“Where the hell were you, Tony?” Ziva said, her voice deadly calm. Tony hated when she was like that because he had no idea what to expect from her and is scared him._

_“I was out,” Tony feebly replied._

_“Yes, you were out,” Ziva began, the tone in her voice changing from calm to sarcastic. “You said you would be home at ten, it is now three in the fucking morning, Tony. And you cannot say you lost track of time. This is simply beyond losing track of time.” Ziva was screaming now._

_“Sweet cheeks, come on, the neighbors will hear,” Tony said, trying to keep her voice to a minimum._

_“I don’t care if the neighbors hear,” Ziva hissed. “Let’s let them know that I have a cheating scumbag of a husband.”_

_“Ziva, who said anything about cheating?” Tony asked, surprised that she had jumped to the conclusion._

_“Well, if you’re not cheating, explain where you’ve been every single night this week past midnight?” Ziva asked, folding her arms in front of her._

North Atlantic Ocean – Day 12, 19:01  
On board The Miracle – DiNozzo Cabin  
Back then, Tony hadn’t known how to answer that question. While it was true that he hadn’t been cheating, how could he tell her that he was out every night partying like some frat kid. It had been a big step for him to get married and he hadn’t been totally ready to give up his party lifestyle when they had gotten married. Kate, his best friends for years, had warned him that partying would get him into trouble, but he never listened to her, no matter how right she always turned out to be. Now though, he had an answer for her, he had been saying goodbye to his old life, living like that collage boy once again, though he hadn’t known it then. Kate had done it, again, she’d slapped him back to reality without laying a finger on him.

“Where’d you get that?” Ziva asked looking down at the hand drawn picture of her that Tony had spent the last twenty minutes looking at.

“Crazy woman in the next cabin,” he said loosely indicating in the direction of the Gibbs’ cabin.

“I will never trust her with a sketchbook by the pool again.”

“It’s a good picture,” Tony said. “Makes you look sexy and exotic.”

“I am sexy and exotic,” Ziva threw back. She was hunting through their case for something and straightened with a victorious smile as she found her hair brush. “And it’s not as good as the wedding drawing she did.”

“You mean the framed one we have in our hallway. That must have taken her weeks to draw.” Tony smiled, he remembered the day they got back from their honeymoon, he hadn’t wanted to come back and when they’d stepped through the door a wrapped present stood leaning against the side table. Curious, they’d opened it to find a very detailed, lightly colored hand drawn picture of the two of them dressed in their wedding clothes and stand in front of an arch of roses. Tony now wished he’d looked at that picture every time he’d come in from a night at the clubs, perhaps then he wouldn’t have needed Kate to remind him how much he loved Ziva. How much he wanted to stay with her.

Sure it scared him, the possibility of losing her made his heart sink lower than the lowest deck of this ship. But at the same time, his usual lifestyle kept him going, kept him sane. He’d have to find a middle ground or he’d end up in the trenches and without his beautiful wife.

“I guess we’re not going up on deck for an evening stroll,” Ziva said, jarring him from his thoughts and turning his attention to the splatters of rain on their window.

“Huh,” he said with a touch of confusion. “That doesn’t look good.” He got up and moved to the window, standing and watching as the wind whipped the water against the glass so hard it looked as though the whole thing was made of water. It wasn’t until he turned to go back to the bed that he realized the ship was starting to rock slowly, he staggered, grabbed Ziva and tumbled onto the bed with her in tow. “Who’s idea was this trip?”

“Kate’s,” Ziva said in defense.

“Yeah,” Tony said putting his protest together as he wrapped his arms around her. “But you were the one who forced me here.”

“If you’d like to relive that moment, by all means let me leave.” Tony tightened his arms around her and dropped his head back onto the bed. The memory of that conversation was far too clear.

_DiNozzo house, Washington – One Month Earlier  
When Tony arrived home from work he found Ziva sitting at the kitchen table, a brochure in front of her. Tony put his keys down and turned towards Ziva and waited for her to speak._

_“We’re going on a cruise, with Kate and Jethro,” Ziva said, tossing the brochure in Tony’s direction. He reached over and picked it up and studied it. The cover of the brochure boasted a picture of a large cruise ship, docked on some Caribbean port._

_“Why?” Tony asked, placing the brochure back on the table._

_“Why?” Ziva asked, raising her eyebrows and Tony could instantly tell that he had asked the wrong question._

_“I just meant why are we going now, why a cruise?” Tony asked, trying to keep his voice neutral. He didn’t want to start another fight._

_“Why?” Ziva asked again, standing up this time as she said it. “Because if you want me to be your wife, you’ll go with me. Tony, we’re falling apart, and as much as I hate divorce, that’s where we’re headed. I don’t want to be the statistic; I want to be the exception. I love you so much, but you need to shape up if we’re going to make it. Now, you either ask for time off at work and go with me, or I’ll be at a divorce lawyer’s office in the morning.” Ziva stormed out of the kitchen, and Tony heard her go upstairs and slam their bedroom door. He sank into the chair across from the one that Ziva had just vacated and put his head in his hands._

_When Ziva slammed the door, she didn’t even have the strength to stand up anymore. She sank to the floor, her back up against the door. Tears were forming in her eyes and she leaned her head back, the tears blinking from the corner of her eyes and running down her face. She loved Tony, she truly did, but she couldn’t live with him anymore with the way he was acting._

_He had been so sweet to her when they were dating; he had swept her off of her feet. She had never been expecting him to ask her to marry him, and when he had, she was ecstatic. She shouldn’t have been surprised that once they were married his attitude would change. Her conversation with Kate at her engagement party flooded her memory._

**DiNozzo Wedding, five years earlier  
Kate sat down next to Ziva, a glass of champagne in her hand. Ziva was nursing a Mojito and picking at a plate of shrimp. Tony was off in the corner talking with Jethro and some of his other friends. Ziva didn’t know Kate very well, she had only met Tony’s best friend from college a few weeks ago, but she liked the woman, nonetheless.**

**“Is he always like this?” Ziva asked, motioning to Tony, who was now telling a joke to his fellow co-workers. Kate smiled.**

**“Pretty much, always the social butterfly,” Kate said, her smile receding a little bit. “Listen, I just want to give you a piece of advice. I’ve known Tony for a long time, and he’s always been extremely social sometimes too much, and he always will be. Keep an eye on him.”**

_DiNozzo house, Washington – One Month Earlier  
Ziva sighed and wiped away the tears that fallen during her reminiscing. She pushed herself up from the floor and headed into the bathroom. What she needed right now was a nice, hot, bath._

North Atlantic Ocean – Day 12, 18:45  
On board The Miracle – DiNozzo Cabin  
Married for five years and that’s what it had boiled down to, go on the cruise or say goodbye. At the time he hadn’t wanted to do either, but here he was, three days to Bermuda, a nice six day break and three days back. They’d been on the ship for a day so far, now out in the middle of nowhere there was a storm building. Not that he was afraid of a little seesaw effect for an evening, he just hoped he could hold his stomach.


	2. Chapter 2

North Atlantic Ocean – Day 12, 18:47  
On board The Miracle – Gibbs Cabin   
Jethro had practically finished the crossword when he looked up, his mind focused on it for the last twenty minutes or so he hadn’t noticed what his wife had been doing for this time. Looking around gave him the answer. The place was tidy again, after unpacking all their stuff, various bits and pieces had been left all over the sides, they were now tucked away in drawers or back in their cases. And then there was Kate. Caitlin Todd – or at least she had once been Todd and sometimes it was hard to remember just why she’d agreed to marry him in the first place. Then there were times like this, when he could run his eyes up her long legs, blocked only by the short skirt she was wearing. Topped with a string strap top and sketchbook he was reminded of the night he’d asked her to marry him.

He’d stepped into his bedroom that night to find her, pretty much as she was now, laying on her front on the bed, sketchbook and pencil, wrist at a slightly awkward angle as she added something to her image and one foot crooked up at the knee.

Carefully, and every so quietly, Jethro got up and moved almost cat like to the bed. A predatory grin on his face he caught the swaying foot and gave a sharp nip of his teeth at her ankle, she gave a yelp and he watched the pencil slip across the page – it had taken her half an hour to salvage the picture he’d ruined when he’d proposed, he’d done the same then as he was doing now. Slightly annoyed at him, Kate turned onto her back and gave him a swift kick, he caught her ankle this time, stopping her from making contact and leaned in to kiss the point he’d nipped at.

“What picture did I just destroy?” He asked, slowly kissing his way up to her knee.

“The view from our hotel room back on the island.” She gasped as he nipped a little too hard at the side of her knee. He hadn’t meant to, but the ship had swayed a touch too hard at that moment.

“You know we have photos right?” He asked, sliding up onto the bed and leaning over her body to kiss at her neck. “Good ones too, you took them.” He felt the ship tilt to one side and Kate let out a groan. For a moment he took it for encouragement until she shoved him to the side and scrambled off the bed and into the bathroom. For a moment he just dropped back on the bed, he was used to the rock of a boat, having grown up with navy parents he’d found himself out at sea far too often, but Kate hadn’t had that luxury. He pushed up, turning to glance out the window at the rain, now coming down hard and creating large rivets of water to wash down it.

Turning again, he plucked the water bottle off the bedside and made his way into the bathroom. He held it out to her as she straightened up, swaying with the ship, she reached out for it and he had to catch her arm to stop her falling on her backside. It was then that the lighting caught her just right to show him how pale she was and as she took the water from him, he moved closer and wrapped his arms around her.

“That was a perfectly good meal too,” Kate joked as she took a sip. The ship seemed to straighten for a while but they stood there for a while more, his hands rubbing at her back as he watched the wall lamp sway quickly from side to side.

“You’ll probably do better lying down,” he said. “Come on, you can lay my side, closer to the bathroom.” He led her out of the room, sat her on the edge of the bed and grabbed her sweater from the stool by the bar. Once she had it on, he helped her back onto the bed before picking up her sketchbook from the floor. The line she’d drawn led from a palm tree near the beach off the side of the book, he pulled the bottom draw of the cabinet open and extracted an eraser before grabbing his crossword book and dropping down on the bed next to her.

Their trip here had been wonderful, relaxing and smooth, now they had a black sky and what felt like high winds going on. Settling back, and turning the page to the next puzzle he ran over their week on land.

_The Bahamas – Days 4 - 10  
One of the things Kate loved about Jethro was his laid back attitude, sometimes, and there were times when it happened, she would find that ability to look as though he didn’t care really frustrating. Then there were times like this. Their honeymoon had wonderful, relaxing and just plain brilliant, she’d come back from it with a whole new set of pictures to put on canvas and such a profound sense of calm it was as if she’d just started her life over again._

_She wouldn’t go back from this with the same sense, for a start, their return home would be followed by the conversation about extending their family. A conversation she was sure would end with her taking a trip to see her mother or in tears round Tony and Ziva’s. Along with his relaxed vibe, he was also a powerful man and his head strong mind set and stubborn disposition made it hard to get him to change his mind on any topic. Which meant the inevitable outcome of their conversation would be her telling him she was pregnant and then walking away from their marriage._

_It frightened the hell out of her, she loved him, more than she’d loved anyone in her life and she had no doubt he’d be a great dad. He just seemed to be frightened of something and she couldn’t work out what. Either way, she was going to enjoy what time she had with him while she could, which was why when they arrived at the island for a week’s stay, she readily agreed to whatever he wanted to do._

_Their mornings were easy, relaxing. Jethro was up before her, always had been, and she’d be woken each day by the soft knock on the door that indicated room service was bringing breakfast. She’d be up and vanished into the bathroom before the door was opened and thankful that he couldn’t seem to hear as morning sickness turned her stomach. She’d brush her teeth, pull on her robe and step out fresh and ready for the day._

_After breakfast they’d grab books or sketchbook and head down to the pool or beach, the choice was always his. Whichever was the case, she always took great pleasure in convincing him to put sun cream on her as she stripped down to that naughty little bikini that he loved so much. Then she’d grin at him for the first part of the morning while he lay on his front to hide his arousal._

_They’d head back to the hotel room around lunchtime to change, though it usually ended up with them sharing a shower before heading out to find somewhere to eat. They’d head in a different direction to the previous day and see where they ended up and what they could find before making their way back in time for dinner. By the time the evening came around, Kate would be too tired to do anything and after the first day of wanting to just have an early night or laze around their room they settled into finding light entertainment, where Kate would use her tiredness as an excuse to have juice instead of alcohol, and retired around midnight._

~*~

North Atlantic Ocean – Day 12, 21:00  
On board The Miracle – The Bridge  
“Swab hands on deck,” Joseph said into the walkie-talkie as he watched the black sky out the view window, it had been turning blacker and blacker out there for the last two hours now and the inkiness was only punctuated by slight streaks light gray that he was sure were passing airplanes. Based on the satellite image behind him, they were still about an hour away from the middle of the storm and outside the rain was starting the build up on the deck. They’d opened all the flood ports, letting it wash off the side of the cruise liner, but the sheer volume of rain that was now pelting down was causing them to block quickly and the occasional bubble of trapped air would prevent the water from escaping.

All hands on deck would be handed buckets and the odd person a broom to wash along the flood points to keep the water moving. He could hear the shouts of the deck commander ordering his man around as he approached the bridge.

“Captain,” the commander said yanking the door open and letting a splash of water in. The bitter chill that came with it was a little shocking, a shock that intensified when the wind swept in and made him shudder from head to toe. It was freezing out there and for a sad and desperate moment he pictured the men on the deck in the movie Titanic – top hat and tails and still shivering in the cold.

“What is it?” The captain asked from behind him.

“The waves are coming up too high; they’re washing water back onto the deck.”

“Do your best, there are more people heading up to help.”

“That’s not all, we need the crew emergency jackets, it’s freezing out here and the ship is rocking enough that we might need to use the emergency lines to hold people in place.” As if to make his point, the wind whipped in again and Joseph had to wrap his thin command jacket around him to stop his bones rattling.

“Do what you must, we’re only about five hours through the whole storm, the passengers are the priority of the hotel manager and his staff, but he’ll spare hands where possible.”

The phone to his right rang making him jump and he swung around and picked it up hastily.

“Allen,” he said with little care to the harsh tone. The female voice demanded the captain in much the same regard and Joseph turned to the captain. “Abby,” was all he said as he handed over the receiver.

“Abby, what do you have?”

“Massive communication from land, I mean epic information.” Joseph smiled, he was stood close enough that he could hear Abby through the phone.

“Abby?”

“Right, sorry. Port comm.’s say anyone caught in or on the edge of the storm should hold their position and not try to make it through. They’re saying it looks huge and has the potential to do some real damage so they are asking everyone to stay put and they’re putting choppers in the air to keep an eye on anyone reporting back that they are having issues. They recommend emergency positioning beacons be activated and that passengers be restricted to their room, the dining hall or the theatre until the worst is over.”

“Alright,” the captain said, whipping a hand over his brow.

“That’s not all. The communiqué was issues with warnings for high winds, rain and hail. They’re pretty must saying be prepared for the worst.”

“I got it, Abby, keep regular contact with port comm.’s and let me know if they have any more suggestions.”

“Will do.”

“It’s gonna get worse,” the captain said handing the phone back. “Let the hotel staff know people should be kept to...”

“Rooms, dining hall or theatre. Yes sir.”


	3. Chapter 3

North Atlantic Ocean – Day 12, 21:37  
On board The Miracle – DiNozzo Cabin  
The banging and voices drew Ziva’s attention as she did up the first buttons of her PJ top, ahead of her and on the other side of the bed, Tony quirked an eyebrow, grabbed his shirt again and quickly buttoned it as he headed for the door. She paused, waiting for the door to open, but for a while it didn’t happen. A knock at the door made her jump and almost instantly start laughing as the image of Tony, ear to door, jumped out of his skin.

“Quiet you,” she heard him hiss playfully, but that just made her laugh more.

“Sir,” the strange voice said and for a moment he paused. “My name is Timothy McGee, with hotel services, we’re just informing people that the captain has requested that people remain in their rooms until the storm has passed.”

Ziva heard Tony tell the hotel services man okay and then the door shut. Ziva continued buttoning her pajama top. Tony entered the bedroom and took a flying leap into bed, snagging her on his way down and pulling her with him. She giggled suddenly, causing Tony to look at her.

“What’s this? Ziva DiNozzo, giggling, never,” Tony said as he started tickling her. She giggled even harder and tried to escape his roaming hands, but it was no use. Finally, the tickling abated and Tony pulled Ziva in close to him. He nuzzled into her neck and they lay there like that for several minutes.

Ziva's mind drifted to their last night on the island.

_The Bahamas – Day 10  
It was their last night on the island and Tony had planned a surprise for Ziva. He knew that she loved to dance and she hadn’t for a long time, so he looked up the name of a local dance club and had told Ziva they were going out. He didn’t tell her where, so she was completely in the dark, and he was hoping she would enjoy it._

_Tony was sitting in a chair by the balcony, waiting for Ziva to come out of the bathroom. She’d been in there for an hour already. Finally, he heard the lock click and then Ziva stepped into view. Tony felt his breath hitch as he looked at her. She was dressed in a black dress that had a V in the front. The skirt was frilly and came to about her mid thigh at its shortest. On her feet were black gladiator sandals and Tony could see that she was wearing the anklet he had given her last Christmas. Her hair was cascading around her in gentle curves, with the hair at the crown of her hair braided back. Her eyes were smoky black and her lipstick was bright red. She just stood there and watched as Tony gawked. After a few minutes she spoke, jerking Tony back into reality._

_“I’m ready,” she said. Tony shook his head and then looked at her._

_“What? Oh, yeah, I’m ready, let’s go,” he said._

_They went downstairs and Ziva waited while Tony hailed a cab. She could feel every man’s eyes on her and she smiled. She knew that Tony would go crazy wherever they were going trying to keep other men off of her, and that pleased her. Tony finally hailed a cab and helped Ziva into the back and whispered their destination to the driver and they drove away from the hotel._

_About fifteen minutes later, the taxi pulled up in front of a club. Ziva could hear the music thumping from inside and the sign declared in bold letters the club’s name; ‘Baila!”. Ziva turned to Tony, barely able to contain her excitement._

_“Dancing, really?” she asked. Tony smiled at her excitement._

_“Yes, really; I know that you love dancing and we haven’t been in ages,” Tony said. Ziva surprised him by throwing herself at him and kissing him. Tony relented and kissed her back. When they pulled apart and Tony helped her out of the cab. He spoke to the bouncer, who looked at a list and then nodded and let them in._

_The sounds of tango music increased at they made their way down the long and smoky hallway into the main dance room. Dozens of people were out on the dance floor and even more at the tables surrounding it. They found an empty table and Tony went to the bar to get them drinks. When he returned, Ziva was out on the dance floor with another man. Tony smiled and sat down in the chair and watched his wife. She was something to see when she danced. She had taken lessons in her childhood and into her teens and it showed._

_When the song ended the man kissed her on the cheek and Ziva made her way back to the table and Tony handed her the Mojito and she drank it gratefully._

_“Having fun?” Tony asked over the noise. Ziva smiled and nodded. She leaned over to him as another song started and whispered in his ear._

_“Dance with me?”_

_Tony got up and led her out onto the dance floor. Tony had never had an professional training, but you would never have been able to tell; he was Italian and he knew how to move. They spun, swept, and tangoed across the dance floor. When that song was over, a slower song came on and Tony pulled Ziva closer to his body and they danced slowly._

__

Oh darling, please believe me  
I’ll never do you no harm  
Believe me when I tell you  
I’ll never do you no harm

Ziva buried her head into Tony’s chest, and he could feel her hot breath against his chest. All sorts of thoughts drifted through his mind, the most prominent being that he missed being this close to her. They hadn’t been this close for a few years, and Tony missed it.

Oh darling, if you leave me  
I’ll never make it alone  
Oh believe me, when I beg you  
Don’t ever leave me alone

Ziva nestled into Tony’s chest as he held her and they swayed. She inhaled his scent deeply. This, this was the man that she married. Not the man that had been in her husband’s body for the last two years. She felt his arm tighten around her and she smiled.

When you told me you didn’t need me anymore  
You know I nearly broke down and cried

“Oh Ziva,” Tony whispered into her ear. “I’m so sorry.” Ziva looked up at him, and Tony could see the tears glistening in the corners of her eyes. “I don’t know what happened to me, to us.”

Oh darling, please believe me  
I’ll never let you down  
Believe me, when I tell you  
That I’ll never do you no harm

Ziva looked up at Tony and she kissed him. It didn’t matter that the music had stopped and people were staring; all that mattered was that he still loved her, had always loved her, and would always love her.

“Let’s get out of here,” she whispered into his ear.

They barely made it to their hotel room before Tony’s lips were on hers. Her back was up against the door and Tony struggled to open the door while maintaining contact with her lips. He finally managed, and they almost fell through the door. Once the door was shut, Tony moved his hands and unzipped Ziva’s dress and pulled it down off of her body. She was wearing nothing underneath except for a shear lace thong.

Meanwhile, Ziva was unbuttoning Tony’s shirt. When it finally hung open, she dragged her nails up and down his sides. A loud groan emitted from him. She quickly and deftly unbuckled his belt and lowered herself to drag his pants down his legs, running her tongue along the inside of his thigh as she did. She could feel him shivering at her touch and she smiled to herself; she could still drive him wild.

Tony lifted Ziva up and dumped her backwards onto the bed. His mouth moved from hers down onto her neck, her collar bone. He made his way slowly to her breast, dragging his tongue across her sensitive skin. She moaned with pleasure. Slowly, he started dragging his tongue across her breast, just stopping shy of her nipple, which was hard and pointed. Ziva whimpered. Slowly, he let his tongue flick her nipple, once, twice. Ziva moaned again, louder this time. Keeping his mouth concentrated on her nipple, Tony let his hand wander down her body, stopping right at her pelvis. He could feel her shaking, her body practically begging for him to make her come. Slowly, he trailed his fingers over the spot that drove her wild. All these sexless months and he still remembered. He swirled his finger over the spot, and Ziva’s hips bucked beneath him.

“Tony,” Ziva whispered. “I want you in me, now.” Tony obliged and entered her, slowly. He could feel her tighten immediately. Keeping a steady pace, he leaned up and began nipping Ziva’s collarbone, in rhythm with his own thrusting. Moving up her neck with his tongue, he could feel his own orgasm coming, and he continued his trail and stopped halfway up her neck. He let his tongue circle lazily for a few moments, and then bit her, hard. He knew that she had come, he could feel her pulsating around him, and this was enough to send him over the edge as well. He continued thrusting through his orgasm and then collapsed on top of Ziva, their bodies flush together.

“God, Ziva, I love you.”

North Atlantic Ocean – Day 12, 21:39  
On board The Miracle – DiNozzo Cabin  
Ziva’s thoughts were interrupted as next door, Kate shouted. _“Jethro, there’s water in the room.”_ Ziva got up, Tony right behind her and moved towards the door, thankful she’d only changed her top and still had her shoes on as she stepped through into the entrance and found herself in a puddle of water. She crossed the room and pulled the door open.


	4. Chapter 4

North Atlantic Ocean – Day 12, 21:41  
On board The Miracle – Corridor  
So much for a relaxing vacation. It was the only thought Kate had, mixed in with the memory of the lunch Ziva and she had been having when they decided this was the best idea for both of them, an escape from their problems to clear their minds and start the problem with less anger when they got back home.

_Restaurant, Washington – One Month Earlier  
Lunch together was always fun. Girl gossip at its best and most of all it gave them both an excuse to get out of the house a couple of times a week. Not to mention the nit picking session about their respective husbands idiosyncrasies. Recently though, their usual barb had dropped down to the local gossip and how their businesses were doing and then into an almost silence with the odd comment here and there. That was until Ziva decided whatever was on her mind was worth asking about._

_“What was...” she paused for a moment to swallow her food. “What was Tony like at college?” Kate nearly choked on her drink, Ziva knew Kate and Tony had a past, but she’d never asked specifics about their relationship._

_“Mr. Popular, always trying to draw attention...”_

_“I mean with women,” Ziva cut in._

_“Oh,” Kate stopped to pick her words carefully. “Well,” there was no honest answer she could give that didn’t make it look like Tony chased skirts. “He was,” there was no word for it and Kate sighed. “He loved the ladies, love their attention and was always trying to make them laugh, showing off all over the place. Earned himself a nickname before I broke up with him, they called him Teasing Tony.” Kate grinned. “You’ve asked me that question before, you know. I seem to remember your engagement party.”_

_“Did Tony cheat on you?” Ziva asked carefully avoiding the comment._

_“No,” it was true, that was for sure. “Absolutely not, I just couldn’t deal with him out all night and then telling all his mates which girls he’d managed to tease the next morning. He never seemed to grow up,” she said honestly and watched Ziva nod. “I guess I just like the more mature men,” Kate added with a grin, then she sighed. “Though sometimes that has its disadvantages.”_

_Ziva watched her friend with narrowed eyes, she knew Kate well enough to something was on her mind and the last comment hadn’t helped at all._

_“What’s wrong?” Ziva asked, giving her friend no wiggle room to move away from the conversation._

_“Sort of by accident, a little my fault, I...” Kate took a deep breath. “I got pregnant.”_

_“By accident, a little your fault?”_

_“Might have missed a few days birth control without meaning too. I didn‘t just want to go and tell Jethro that I was pregnant, it’s not something we’ve talked about before, so I suggested we turn the spare room into a nursery... and he closed himself of bluntly said no.”_

_“He doesn’t want kids.”_

_Kate just shook her head. “I can’t abort, I don’t want to give it up for adoption and all we’ve done since I made the suggestion is shout or avoid each other. I don’t know what to do, I don’t even know why he doesn’t want kids. If it’s that he thinks he’s too old then...”_

_“He’s just being silly. There are stories in the paper all the time about men and women older than him who have babies.”_

_“I’d be happy with just one, I wouldn’t ask him to do the midnight feed or change... that many diapers.”_

_Ziva huffed a small laugh. “I want Tony to stop lying about what time he’ll be home and to actually come home at a reasonable hour. You want Jethro to talk to you about a family. I think we have a too much time in the house issues, we need to get out and we need to force them into a situation where they can’t avoid us.”_

_“Absolutely,” Kate said with a defeated sigh. “A change of scenery would be nice too, might break this stupid painters block I’ve got stuck in.”_

_“We need a vacation.” Ziva said matter-of-factly. “Any suggestions?”_

_Kate shook her head, looking around a little at the shops nearby, she had to wonder if they could stop coming here, the baby shop opposite the cafe was starting to draw her in. Or drive her crazy, she hadn’t worked out which. Then her eyes caught on something._

_“Actually, I think I might,” she said, her eyes fixed on a poster in the shop window directly behind Ziva. Ziva turned to look and Kate watched the smile draw across her face before she turned back._

_“Bermuda Cruise. Kate, I like the way you think.”_

~*~

North Atlantic Ocean – Day 12, 21:43  
On board The Miracle – Corridor/Gibbs Cabin  
Things were going quickly downhill and it was starting to tingle in her brain that they wouldn’t make it home to have that conversation about having a baby.

Her back pressed against the wall of the corridor, the back of Jethro’s hand pressed against her stomach – because she refused to let it go – she kept her eyes fixed firmly on the puddle on the floor, watching the rivets of water wash past her sandaled feet. Beside her, Ziva and Tony’s door opened sharply and they stepped out into the hall.

“What the...” Tony said, trailing off as he stupidly picked up a feet to look at the water he’d stepped in.

“Tony, go find that rep that said to stay in our rooms,” Jethro said, almost like an order. Kate glanced up at him, catching sight of a couple and a little girl standing in the doorway of a room further down the hall. She caught Tony’s quick nod as he moved away and her eyes returned to the water, now almost completely covering her feet.

“It’s probably just rain water,” Ziva said taking a step closer to Kate and placing a hand on her arm. “It’s really coming down out there.” The ship gave a sharp dip to one side and Ziva staggered for a moment, shoulder pressed against the wall beside her. Kate felt the pressure of her back against the wall increase and closed her eyes, she had a horrible feeling they weren’t being told everything, the hard rain, the rocking ship – cruise liners weren’t meant to rock this easily.

“Whoa.” The extra voice turned Kate’s attention and she watched Tony and the hotel rep turn the corner. “This can’t be good.”

“You think, McObvious?” The rep gave him an unimpressed look and Kate saw Tony mouth his sorry. “Hotel base, this is McGee, we have water on guest level 1 and soon to be level 2. Please advise.”

“This is Director Shephard, how bad is the water flow up there?”

“Erm, well,” McGee checked the water, now just a trickle along the ground as another small wave flooded down. “It’s coming down in waves that come close to ankle level.” He tried to give a reassuring smile that seemed more like a pout than anything else, then he turned away to carry on the conversation without them watching him. Jethro turned to her, pulling her away from the wall enough that he could wrap his arms around her. At the same time, he made a motion to get Tony and Ziva closer.

“I think we got stuck with the extra hands that don’t know what they’re doing. Probably not even hotel services,” Jethro kept his tone soft and his voice low, but it didn’t stop the fear washing over her toes with the next wave of water. The ship tipped again and as it straightened up she separated from Jethro, turned into their room and ran for the bathroom. She could hear the feet following her, all three sets of them and let out a pained sob as she leaned over the toilet and vomited.

“She alright?” Tony asked as Ziva’s hands pulled Kate’s hair back.

“Probably just a touch of sea sickness,” Jethro said, his voice trailing slightly before he appeared at her side with the water bottle in hand.

“Men,” Ziva said a little too much venom in her voice.

“Don’t,” Kate warned before another wave of sickness overtook.

“Don’t, what?” Tony asked.

“Nothing,” Ziva said sweetly, then gasped as a shock of light flashed through the room. They turned to look at the window, now ink black outside with nothing to break through the wave of water running down the side of the ship, for a moment they just watched and nothing seemed to happen, Kate tried to determine where the sky and sea met and she managed a step forward before the blackness was broken by a bolt of lightning.

Everyone jumped and screams broke out somewhere outside their room, the lightning had struck the water close to the ship and on impulse Kate had grabbed Ziva’s arm. Another flash of light lit the window and eliminated the sea, waves high above their normal level and cutting across each other all over the place.

“Not good,” Tony said seconds before the ship dripped dangerously. Kate staggered forward, thankful for Jethro’s arms. Just a little more of a dip and the ship would be on its side. As it straightened again, Kate felt the tears slip down her cheeks and she dropped down to the floor, her arms across her stomach to protect her baby she was suddenly sorry for so many things. Namely, not telling her husband she was pregnant and then there was starting the arguments between them.

_Gibbs house, Washington – Two Months Earlier  
Kate knew she had to careful with the approach of the topic in her head, they hadn’t been married more than a year and a half yet and this was unexplored territory for them. Either way, she had to know. It hadn’t really bothered her before now, not that she’d put all her brain power into its contemplation, though thinking about it now, it scared her a little that Jethro wouldn’t want kids, and if that was the case, things could get complicated._

_She’d left the dinner in the oven; it would take an hour to cook at the temperature she set so she had plenty of time to attempt the conversation. Still, she couldn’t help but worry a little as she made her way down the wooden stairs, the soft pad of her socked feet letting him know she was coming and giving her no chance to escape._

_“What’s cooking?” he said as she rounded the bottom of the stairs. “Good looking,” he added with a coy smile. She grinned back, hoping it didn’t look nervous or frightened. Kate said nothing, stopping at the bottom of the stairs she just watched him for a moment as he continued to work on his boat. She’d never worked out his fascination with boats, but she had to admit, his wood work skills were a very nice bonus. “Come here,” he said and she pushed away from the banister and walked towards him._

_As she got closer, he reached out and pulled her in, placing her between him and the boat rung he was working at. He took her hands, placing them over the sander and started to guide her actions, it felt good, to help him, odd if she was honest, it wasn’t like him to do this and it was even less like her to let him take her help. Sandpaper was for coarse hands, she had delicate artists ones and she didn’t really want to ruin them._

_One of his hands slipped off hers and dropped down to her waist, his hand pressing her back against him while the other continued to guide the sander. She’d have to rethink something here, either the planned discussion was going out the window, or she was about to have a whole new respect for the boats he built._

_“What’s on your mind?” he asked lowering his lips to her neck._

_“The spare room,” she said daringly._

_“You mean our gym, painting room, reading room, storage room?”_

_“Yeah, the undecided mess of everything we like,” she said with a small laugh, trading her hands for his again on the sander, but staying in place._

_“You have another suggestion?”_

_“I do,” she said and then quickly ducked out from under his arms. She made a round of the room, checking out all the things in it, she knew them already, but for now it was something to do. It wasn’t until the sanding stopped that she knew Jethro had moved._

_“And...” he said making her jump at just how close he was and just as she picked something up - she hated that he could that sometimes. She turned to look at him, heart pounding away in her throat._

_“A nursery.”_

_She saw the flicker of pain or fear cross his face, it was gone so fast as he turned away from her she couldn’t figure out what it had been._

_“A nursery? As in for a baby?”_

_Kate didn’t reply, her sense of preservation was tingling and quickly building to warning klaxons. He’d stopped by the boat again, his back completely to her and just waited. She couldn’t work him out, he’d closed off so quickly at the mention that it was almost as if he was afraid of something happening again, as though he’d previous lost a child. But Jethro had never been married before, in fact when they’d met, he had never wanted to be. She should have realized he wouldn’t want children, which meant she was completely screwed now._

_“What’s wrong with wanting a family with the man I love?” Jethro moved at last, walking back along the side of the boat to continue sanding, his face stony and emotionless. “Will you even tell me why not?” Silence again as he finished sanding and moved onto the next rung. “Jethro,” she said, her voice tense and louder than she expected in her frustration._

_“I don’t want kids,” he said sharply turning to her. “End of story.”_

_“Oh so this is just your choice, I don’t get a say.”_

_“You’ve had your say,” he shouted. “You want kids, I don’t. All this conversation is ever gonna be is you want and I don’t.”_

_“You didn’t want to get married either, you told me you were too old now to even consider it, and look,” she stuck her ring hand at him, showing off the diamond studded engagement ring and thin gold band. She sobered quickly, realizing something she said could actually be carried across. “Is that it? You think you’re too old?”_

_Jethro let out a frustrated breath, his head hung for a moment before he carried on working. She let the silence linger, watching him, furiously trying to work out what was going through his brain. But nothing was ever easy with him, he was closed off at the best of time and she’d spent a year and a half getting to know him and learning each emotional twitch._

_“You’re not old,” she said taking a step forward. “I told you that when you told me you loved me. I told you then that I didn’t care what people though, I never will.”_

_“That’s not the reason.”_

_“Then what is,” she shouted, this time more out of defeat. “Talk to me, Jethro. Tell me why not.”_

_Silence again._

_“Make your own dinner then,” she said throwing the screwdriver at the boat and stormed up the stairs. “I’m going out, don’t know when or even if I’ll be back,” she added as she reached the top of the stairs and slammed the door behind her. He was more frustrating when he was silent, the fact that he wouldn’t even talk to her was the most annoying thing in the world. A conversation with his boat would have been more productive._

_Kate pulled on her shoes, grabbed her coat and purse and made a show of slamming the door behind her. No keys, no phone and she’d left the oven on. She just couldn’t care right now._


	5. Chapter 5

North Atlantic Ocean – Day 12, 21:47  
On board The Miracle – Gibbs Cabin/Corridor   
“And go where? The waves out there would kill us in a second,” Ziva’s voice was strained, there was an argument seemed to have broken out between her and Tony.

“And staying here is so much safer,” Tony replied sarcastically. Kate glanced up as another set of feet stopped in the doorway, McGee was back and he stood, shifting as they continued to argue over staying and going.

“I don’t want to die, I don’t want to lose my baby,” Kate breathed. She’d said the words, just not loud enough for anyone to really hear.

“It’s freezing out there,” Ziva said, “Kate’s in no condition to be out in open waters in a life boat.”

“You’re both strong women,” Tony spat. “Even if she’s sick...”

“She’s not sick,” Ziva cut him off and Kate squeezed her eyes shut. Ziva wasn’t quick enough to stop herself from finishing the sentence and she trailed off with: “She’s pregnant.”

“What?” Jethro’s voice seemed detached, even if it was close to her and she suddenly became aware of his hands on her hips.

“What?” Tony said. It seemed to have taken a minute for the word to sink in before he finally reacted.

“Erm,” McGee swayed along with the ship as he tried to interrupt the conversation, then he turned quickly and Kate suspected someone had given him a look that frightened him off.

Jethro’s hands moved, releasing her and she knew this wasn’t going to end well. None of their other discussions about kids had.

_Gibbs house, Washington – One Month Earlier  
Sometimes, just some of the time lately, the evenings were uncomfortable. Other times they went their separate ways for the last few hours of the day. Tonight should have been one of those nights when she vanished into the garden to draw while Jethro worked on his boat, but that’s just not what she needed to do._

_Dinner was quiet, which wasn’t at all uncommon even before they started to argue over children. It wasn’t that they didn’t have anything to talk about, there was always plenty, usually while she was preparing their meal he’d have some comment about Tony to make, usually that that man had spent x amount of time chatting up some woman until Jethro had slapped him around the head with one word ‘Ziva’. But that little tradition had come to an end recently and now most of the time they were in the same room had become uncomfortable. And all the time they spent apart started to really ache in Kate’s chest. They needed to work this out and here, where they could easily separate and do their own thing they weren’t getting anywhere._

_“I’ll clear up before I go back down,” Jethro said as he took the last bite of his meal. That alone was unusual for him, but Kate nodded and put her fork down so he could take her plate. She didn’t move though, sitting with her back to the sink where he now stood she considered just how she’d tell him just what Ziva and she had done today._

_“We can’t go on like this, you know.” It was a bold start, she knew, but hopefully it would at the very least result in him sitting down to talk to her instead of going back to his stupid boat. More than once she’d thought of setting the thing on fire while he was at work. Usually that made her pick up her sketch book and supplies and head for a park. She heard Jethro paused in the middle of washing up and she had wonder if he’d reply or draw back to his silence._

_“You want to discuss this. Again,” he said pointing out that she’d attempted to bring this conversation back to the open a dozen times or so since her first suggestion of a nursery._

_“No,” she said attempting to keep the frustration that boiled every time they talked out of her voice. She dropped head, a little annoyed with this circular conversation they always seemed to get stuck in. “I don’t want to argue anymore.”_

_“Good,” he said and she could hear the ‘I won’ tone of his voice. It almost made her want to cry._

_“We’re going on vacation.” She heard the plate slip out of his hand and waited for the question._

_“Really? Where exactly are we going?”_

_“A cruise to Bermuda.” Jethro huffed disapprovingly. Kate sighed. “Fine,” she said. “You don’t want to work on our relationship, then I guess I’ll go pack and stay with Ziva and Tony until I can find my own place.” She got up and headed for the door, as she stepped into the hall she heard the clunk of a plate on the bottom of the sink._

_“Kate,” he called, angrier than she’d ever heard him._

_“You don’t want to work on us, there’s no reason for me to stay.”_

_“You just tell me we’re going, I get no say in this,” he bellowed following her to the stairs as she started up them._

_“You gave me no say on having children,” she snapped, pausing on the stairs to face him for the comment, then carried on up the stairs. Jethro said nothing for a moment and she didn’t hear him following her up either, for a moment she’d though he’d given up and it was all over. She had to stop at the bedroom door to fight back the tears, she failed, cursing herself for giving in on her emotions and felt the warmth run down her cheeks before a hand settled on her hip._

_“Why won’t you just tell me why you don’t want kids?” she asked letting out a sob that rattled down her body. Jethro wrapped his arms around her and hushed her before kissing the top of her head. She sighed, knowing he wouldn’t answer but at least she’d learned one thing tonight; he still loved her._

_“Can we leave that conversation alone for a while?” he asked moving his hands to wrap around her body._

_“What good will that do? I want to have a family, Jethro.” Telling him she was already pregnant would probably put a sharp end to everything, but she had to figure out what to do before he could work it out for himself._

_“It’ll give me time to think,” he said simply. “I love you, Kate, I don’t want to lose you over this.”_

_Kate sobered, it was a step forward, he’d think about it. She nodded softly, enjoying the feel of his hands against her stomach before one of them moved up to brush her hair to the side._

_“Talk about it when we get back from the cruise?”_

_“Sure,” he said. “You do realize it’s gonna be hard getting time off at the same time as Tony, don’t you?” he asked leaning in to kiss her neck._

_“I’m sure you can manage it.”_

~*~

North Atlantic Ocean – Day 12, 21:56  
On board The Miracle – Gibbs Cabin/Corridor  
Kate felt someone’s arms replace Jethro’s and realized vaguely that they were Ziva’s. Ziva helped her stand and pulled her into her arms.

“I’m so sorry, Kate, I didn’t mean too,” Ziva whispered into her best friends ear.

“It’s okay,” Kate answered. Both men were staring at the two women. Finally, Tony snapped out of it and turned to McGee, who must have moved to the doorway of the room.

“What are we supposed to do?” Tony asked, gesturing the water on the surrounding floor.

“The Director of hotel services has requested that I move you to the dining hall,” McGee said. Tony was about to say something when a voice in the hallway interrupted him.

“McGee?” It was a female voice and he leaned backwards out into the hallway. A few seconds later a tall, black haired woman appeared, dressed in a red plaid mini skirt, platform boots, and a black t-shirt. She was wearing a dog collar as a necklace and her hair was in two high pigtails.

“Abby, what are you doing down here?” McGee asked as she threw her arms around him. Everyone else watched on in amused silence. Even Kate had a hard time trying not to smile.

“Jenny said you were down here and I was worried and they were saying there was water on the ship and boy am I glad that my computers are mounted in place,” Abby said in one long breath. Before anyone could respond to that another streak of lightning flashed across the sky, hitting the water dangerously close to the ship. The lights flickered and then went out completely. Ziva and Kate were still next to each other and grabbed each other’s hands. Ziva felt out through the dark and grabbed Tony’s with her free hand. A flashlight cut through the darkness; McGee was holding it with one hand, Abby in the other.

“Everyone okay?” McGee asked. Before anyone could answer, however, a pounding sound made its way through the ship.

“What’s that?” Kate asked, fear in her voice.

“That,” McGee said grimly, “was the security auto locking the doors. We are now sectioned off to this part of the ship.”

“Can you override if somehow?” Tony asked.

“Yes, there’s a manual labor lever for each door, but only the staff knows where the lever is,” McGee said.

“Well, you’re staff, show us,” Tony demanded. Another beam of light appeared and Jethro appeared through the darkness holding another flashlight. He was also holding two heavy sweatshirts, which he handed to Kate and Ziva.

“Put those on,” he said with no emotion in his voice. The women obeyed and pulled the sweatshirts over their heads. Kate placed her hand back into Ziva’s and they headed out into the hallway.

There now had to be at least 3 feet of water in the hallway, and it was cold. Kate started praying. She wanted to get out of this alive, with her baby. It didn’t matter anymore if Jethro approved or not. She clutched Ziva’s hand and tears rolled down her face. She wiped them away with her free hand, glad that no one could see.

When they reached the first door, McGee instructed Abby to hold the flashlight while he located the lever for the door. When he found it, Jethro handed his flashlight to Ziva and the three men jacked the door up. They didn’t get it all the way, but they got it high enough. Kate went under first, followed by Ziva, Abby, and the men last.

“How far are we from the deck?” Jethro asked McGee.

“Well, your staterooms are only one floor down so were fairly close, we just need to make it to the stairs and we’ll be topside,” McGee said. They stopped walking as a wave tipped the boat dangerously and a few more inches of water came in.


	6. Chapter 6

_North Atlantic Ocean – Day 3, 10:13 (journey to Bermuda)  
On board The Destiny – Gibbs Cabin  
Jethro sat on the comfy chair by the window, he had intended to read the paper that had been delivered that morning, but his attention had been drawn the second Kate stepped out of the bathroom. He knew she was heading for the pool with Ziva, leaving him with a day with Tony, but he hadn’t expected her to step out of the bathroom in only her bathing suit, a bathing suit he was particularly fond of._

_Soft devils red material barely covered Kate’s body, in fact, he was pretty sure it didn’t. Just a little bit smaller on the top half and he was sure it would barely cover her nipples. She moved over to stop just behind the bar and bent to select a pair of shoes and he couldn’t help the brow that rose as her backside darted out the side for a moment. She rounded the bar and dropped them down before him before turning back to the wardrobe and selecting a shirt and skirt to wear over them and finally pulled out a towel._

_Devils red. He didn’t really know why red made her so delicious, it just did. The night he’d decided to ask her to marry him, they’d gone out and she’d worn this lovely, long, low cut red dress that had him wishing the night was over so he could slowly peal it off her and lick at the hidden skin. He smiled at the memory of actually being able to do just that and wanted nothing more than do it again now – just peel away the bikini and lick at the hidden flesh._

_“Where did you put my sketchbooks?” she asked, jerking him from his from the image in his head of slowly undoing the strap on her top and devouring one tasty nipple. He pointed to the unit on the right and she didn’t even bother to ask which drawer, she’d just opened them until she found her items._

_Jethro applauded himself for putting her drawing stuff in the bottom drawer and pushed up from the chair as she opened the middle one and stepped up behind her. It was a moment of hesitation, deciding what and where to touch first, before he settled his hand on her lower back, just enough to the sides to take hold of the draw strings._

_“No,” Kate said shutting the second drawer and lowering to the next. “I’m gonna be late as it is.”_

_“So you’ll be extra late,” he said pressing his hips forward so she could feel his erection against her backside. She faltered, the located sketchbook dropping back into the drawer and he felt the shudder down her back as he flicked his thumbs against her spine. He leaned forward, placing a kiss as high on her back as he could reach. “Kate, you know this bikini drives me crazy.”_

_“It’s not the bikini,” she countered. “It’s the cooler.” She knew him too well and it made him smile against her back as his hands dropped over her hips to grip the ends of the strings. He tugged at them, not untying them, but loosening the bows she’d carefully made. Kate straightened slowly and Jethro released the strings to wrap his arms around her, flattening his palms out over the flesh of her stomach and his lips found a spot on her neck._

_“You did pack condoms right?”_

_“You unpacked,” she pointed out and he could hear the devious tone in her voice. He hadn’t seen any condoms and the though made him wonder if she was tricking him into having children. He let out a groan, almost of disappointment. “They’re in my bag, the carry on with my book.”_

_Jethro pulled away, took her by the arm and guided her back the few steps to bed, he playfully pushed her down and leaned over long enough to kiss her before pulling off the bed and moving behind the bar to pick up the bag in question. Impatient, he tipped the content onto the bar and snatched up the promised box, hearing Kate chuckle at him, and moved back to the bed._

_“Mrs. Gibbs, I think you’re wearing too much of that Devil’s red again,” he said dropping the box onto the bed and undoing the buttons on his shirt._

_“It’s not devil’s red, it’s only a shade or two darker than bright red.”_

_“Devils red,” Jethro said. “Designed to drive men wild. Lucky for me, I’m the one who gets to take it off.”_

_“You know, I’m a little shocked,” Kate started as the string behind her neck vanished and Jethro flattened himself over her enough that he could ease the material off one breast. “Most men would be jealous if I left the house in this, you seem to want to encourage less.”_

_“Not out there,” he said pausing to swipe his tongue over the hardened bud he’d freed from the devil’s cage. “Out there any man who considers touching any part of you with or without the devil’s covering will get his hands ripped off. Then maybe his dick.”_

_Kate’s laugh turned into a gasp as Jethro engulfed her nipple. He brought his hand up to squeeze and her breast and for just a moment considered that they had changed, grown a little. He pushed the thought aside in favor of uncovering the other breast and delighted in the squeal she let out as he trapped the bud between his teeth._

_“I have to meet Ziva,” Kate tried, but her breathy voice only served to fuel him on. He moved down slightly, just enough to take the end of the lace between her breasts in his teeth and pull. The bow separated easily and he kissed at the patch where it had rested as the material fell to the bed before starting a row of kisses and nips down her stomach. He paused at her naval, running a wet circle with around it with his tongue before untying the perfect bows on each hip._

_Kate’s hips lifted up as he pulled the material away from her and he grinned for a moment before leaning in to taste her. He knew her too well by this point, knew exactly what she liked, how she liked to be teased and just the right spot to lick to make her arch. He leaned and flicked his tongue against her folds, his hands gripping her hips as she tried to lift off the bed and push towards him, wanting more. Pausing to grin and lick his lips, Jethro planned his attack, knowing she’d want this done quickly so she could go meet with Ziva and lounge by the pool for the day._

_Letting her hips go for a moment, he shrugged out of his shirt and kicked off his shoes. He pulled up, sitting on the edge of the bed on his knees and started to undo his pants, watching as Kate rolled over onto her stomach and ripped open the box of condom and the sharply tugged one of them out. He leaned over quickly, a hand on her shoulder as he took the rubber._

_“Stay like that,” he said, maneuvering himself between her legs as she got comfortable on her front. He rolled the condom on and settled himself over her body, his arms supporting his weight so he didn’t crush her and his knees tucked in under hers to keep her spread open. He balanced to one side and reached down to guide himself into her body and sighed as he settled back over her. “We’re gonna have to talk about doing this without the condom,” he breathed easing himself in painfully slow._

_“It usually ends up in arguments,” she replied with a groan. “And you know I won’t have the birth control implant, and...” she paused as he rocked against her. “I never remember to take the pills.”_

_“Other methods,” he groaned out feeling her tighten around him playfully. “God, Kate,” he added. He reached a hand over, brushing her hair to the side so he could kiss at her neck and shoulder, for the year they had been married he hadn’t worked out how he’d gotten so lucky, but he always swore he’d serve the god who explained it to him. Old, crabby, closed off bastards like him didn’t get beautiful, toned, talented and young women like Kate. It was times like this, his blood pumping from her teasing, intentional or accidental, the taste of her skin on his lips, the sound of her pleasure in his ears that he’d have dropped to the ground in worship and given her everything she wanted. Thrusting deep inside her body, feeling her growing orgasm he was a stone’s throw away from pulling out ripping off the condom and giving her the child she wanted._

_Kate moved, changing the angle of his thrusts and he listened to the gasp as her small pleasurable sounds changed in pitch. He sped up, thrusting faster, but no harder than before, always wanting to make love to her instead of just having sex, his hands moved to tuck under her shoulders and he lowered his body just a fraction so he could feel her back against his chest._

_“Jethro,” she breathed and a moment later her release washed over her and he could feel her whole body shuddering beneath him. He carried on, drawing out as much of her pleasure as he could before she he came, pushing deep and dropping his forehead to her back. Kate’s hands moved in to take his and he felt her chuckle beneath him. “If it’s the devils red, then you must be the devil. I only ever wear it for you.”_

_“Then I better get a cage to lock you away in,” he said and she laughed again. He pulled back, letting her roll onto her back under him._

_“Can I go laze by the pool, master?” Jethro laughed._

_“You wanna be careful with that word, I might get ideas.” He shifted off the bed and picked up her bikini, completely untied it didn’t look as though it could stay on, let alone cover anything delicate on Kate. “I think it shrunk,” he said. “I can’t let you wear it.”_

_“Oh, then I’ll have to go sunbathe naked, let all the men see the parts only you deserve.”_

_“Cheeky,” he said throwing it to her and watching the sway of her backside as she vanished back into the bathroom._


	7. Chapter 7

North Atlantic Ocean – Day 12, 22:23  
On board The Miracle – Corridor  
As strange as it seemed, and no matter how many times he ran the moment through his head, Jethro couldn’t focus on anything other than the pointlessness of using a condom. Not to mention all the other times in the last week or so that they’d used one. He wondered what the point was of using them at all and the more he let the thought seep in, the angrier he became.

The thing was, he wasn’t mad at Kate, or even the condom company, he was angry at himself for not realizing. The signs had been there, why else would Kate ask him about a nursery, the arguments. Everything, she was tired all the time, sick when she thought he wasn’t paying attention and even the fact that she hadn’t drunk coffee or alcohol for more than a month, not that he could remember anyway.

He loved her like crazy, he could remember every minute they had been together since the day they met – and he’d spilt water down her dress. She’d called him a clumsy old bastard and stalked away and he hadn’t been able to do anything but watch her before seeking out Tony to find out who she was. He remembered their first night together. She’d been nervous, almost afraid to tell him she didn’t want to use birth control pills to stop from getting pregnant. He’d kissed her, tenderly, delicately, just as he thought she deserved to be kissed and told her he was fine with just a condom.

The second door opened and a rush of water pushed through the small gap, behind him, Ziva slipped and he heard the gasp as her knee hit the ground. He turned and gripped her arm, pulling her up onto her feet as several things floated past him.

“You alright?” he asked looking down to the now knee high water. Ziva nodded and he turned back to the doors to open it a little wider.

He had once wanted kids, years ago, when he’d been younger, stronger and sharper. But it wasn’t his age now that put him off, wasn’t his grey hairs or the tease Kate threw his way about being wrinkled on occasion. It was his job. Every day he saw new ways that people hurt each other, the different ways people would kill and the reason for such an action and most of the times lately, those reasons had been non-existent or petty and it scared the hell out of him that his child could grow up like one of those people or even the victims of such a person. The world was a horrible place and it seemed Mother Nature was slowly weeding out the population.

As if Mother Nature herself had been listening to his thoughts, the ship tipped and he was forced forward to opposite wall. Screams from the deck below and shouts from beyond the last door rattled through his skull as he stopped himself from crushing Kate. He turned, rolling onto his back on the wall, feeling now like the floor and instinctively pulled Kate with him. He wrapped his arms around her as he checked on the others. Tony and Ziva were clinging to each other to his right, though Tony had a hand on his head that told Jethro he’d hit it somewhere. Abby was clutching McGee’s arm as the hotel service man hunted through the foot of water for his radio.

Turning his attention back to Kate he tightened his grip on her as the ship slipped back to its normal position. Even now, arms around her, her head on his chest and her stomach pressed against him he couldn’t be angry at her for anything, she hadn’t known how he’d react to being told about the baby – he didn’t even know how he’d react and that just added to his confusion about the whole situation.

He looked down at his wife, reaching up for a second to brush her hair back from her face and watching as she cautiously looked up at him. She was afraid to lose him, just as he was scared of losing her, he wanted to tell her it was okay, that nothing would change, but he couldn’t do it. He just didn’t know what to think right now.

The ship started to tip again and anticipating it almost going completely over, he guided her to the wall, turning with the ship so he could stand on the wall as it became the temporary floor. The noise of the haul creaking and the screams from other passengers intensified around him and he heard someone shouting something about a twister before he heard the water wash up against the door beside him.

Then silence fell. Even the creaking of the ship seemed to pause at that moment.

Kate’s fingers tightened in his shirt and he followed her gaze down to the nearest door, were water was starting to bubble up from under the gap of the sides and bottom. It was then that he knew, the ship wasn’t coming back up, it was going under.

“We need to move,” he said, releasing Kate long enough to grab her hand and pull her towards the nearest set of stairs.

“What?” Tony asked. “This door heads to the top deck.”

“Top deck on this side is probably under water now and we will be soon if we don’t move.”

“Erm, sir,” McGee’s voice made him pause. “If we move quickly, we can get out and in a lifeboat before we’re too far under water.”

Jethro turned, took the few steps back to stand so close to McGee that it looked like he was going to eat his face. Kate’s hand still in his he took a deep breath and pinned the man with a hard stare.

“How deep, it too deep, Mr. McGee? In case you haven’t noticed, there are three women in our company and one of them is pregnant.”

“Jethro,” Kate warned trying to stop him from lashing out at the man.

“Well if we do it right now it shouldn’t be more than a few feet to the surface.” Jethro’s hand tightened over Kate’s and he felt her hand on his back.

“Boss,” Tony said trying to cool his temper.

“Jethro, just open the door, get us out of here.” He didn’t turn back to look at Kate, for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He huffed at McGee before turning to the door and let his mind wonder to the day they had left for this trip.

_Gibbs house – Day 1 (prior to the flight to Miami)  
Jethro couldn’t help but quirk a brow. This was, he reminded himself, one of the things he really loved about Kate – even if it did drive him crazy now and again, just not now. The list of things to take was sitting on the bedside, pen sitting on top ready to cross things off – or tick, whichever she felt like doing today. They had three hours before they needed to be at the airport and he’d made it clear when they got up that they wouldn’t be coming back for anything. As soon as that front door was locked, that was it. Which was why she’d written the list while he made breakfast and why they now had everything spread out on a neatly made bed._

_“Pants, tops, shirts, bra’s, panties, underpants, bikini, swim trunks, night clothes...”_

_“Probably not gonna need the last two things on that list,” Jethro interrupted._

_“I told you before, I’m not sleeping naked.”_

_“You do.” Kate looked up long enough to glare at him._

_“Evening clothes, evening shoes, flip flops, sneakers, shades...”_

_“Condoms?”_

_“Maybe we won’t need them.” Kate said picking up her list and running down it. “Maybe by the time we get there I will have talked you into having children with me.” Jethro had to resist the urge to groan or comment. “Or maybe I’ll just leave you hanging for the whole trip.” That time he did groan and then pushed out of the chair and Kate began ticking things off. He moved around to stand behind her, looking down at the list of essentials and taking note of the many items of makeup and such that she’d need in comparison to his shaving stuff and deodorant._

_“You know,” he said, sliding his hand around her waist. “If you pack quickly, I could give you a little water bed experience.”_

_“We don’t have a water bed.”_

_“I can fix that,” he said with a grin as he leaned in and kissed at her neck. She always had that soft spot and he was counting on it working now._

_“You are not pouring water all over our bed.”_

_“Kill joy.”_

_“Though,” Kate said carefully and Jethro could sense the coming nudge for help. “If you want me to finish faster, you could go in the bathroom and collect things we’ll need from there.”_

_“And if I say no?” he teased, kissing further down her neck towards her shoulder blade._

_“Then we won’t be needing condoms here or there,” she said, lightly jutting her shoulder up._

_The last thing Jethro remember his wife picking up as they left the house was the book from her bedside. It confused him a little, as she’d already packed one in a suitcases along with a couple of sketch pads and a pack of pencils. Considering how long they would be gone, he thought that was pretty tame of her, she could go through a pack in a couple of days. To make sure she had to stick by the no turning back rule, he’d called a cab to take them to the airport, but mostly because he didn’t really want to leave his car there for two whole weeks, that and he figured he could start and finish by not having to drive them all around._

_Wheeling their bags in, Jethro checked them in and followed Kate through security to wait for their flight. It wasn’t much of a shock to him that Tony and Ziva hadn’t arrive yet, so he steered Kate towards a far corner and got comfortable to wait._


	8. Chapter 8

North Atlantic Ocean – Day 12, 22:39  
On board The Miracle – Corridor  
Tony gripped the level in both hands and flexed his wrists just a little and pulled, it had been a minute or so between getting Jethro Gibbs to open the door and actually managing to use the lever, and it was turning out to be more difficult than the previous two doors. A gap appeared to the side and not surprisingly, water began to seep in through it. The water on the floor was already up to mid thigh and freezing cold, a few more inches and he’d be able to sing soprano.

He turned to glance at Ziva, watching as she took a tight hold of Kate’s hand and pulled her friend close before he turned back and cranked the lever again. A few more inches opened up and the little flow of water quickly turned into a full out waterfall. Not pausing to think about the water, now freezing his giblets off, he cranked the lever once, twice, three more times and quickly grabbed the side of the door as the flood came pouring in.

He reached out, grabbed Abby by the arm and shoved her through the door and turned back without a thought to push Ziva and Kate through. Kate resisted though, and he knew why. Jethro had gone back to close the previous door, stopping the water from moving quickly through the ship would give more people time to get off, that thought was helped by the fact that there were no stair wells between these two door.

“Kate,” Tony said, feeling the water quickly pass his arm pits. “You have to go.”

“Not without...”

“I’ll make sure he gets out, now go.” Tony’s protest only made her turn to look for her husband. Ziva gave Kate a tug on the arm and Kate turned quickly and moved through the door with Ziva very close behind her. “Gibbs?” Tony called, water now up to his neck, in a few minutes he’d be treading water.

A little annoyed that his friend and boss could be so reckless after finding out Kate was carrying his child, Tony reached out furiously and grabbed McGee’s arms.

“You make sure they get to the surface and into a lifeboat or so help me McGee, you’ll be turned into fish food so fast you won’t know what century you’re in.” He didn’t wait for acknowledgement and forced the man through the gap before taking off down the corridor. He turned to the corner with his head on the ceiling and found the passage completely filled with water at the other end, and no sign of Jethro.

“Hey.” Tony swung around. “You’re meant to be out of here.”

“Kate loves you too much,” Tony said. He watched the flicker of disapproval across the older man’s face before he turned to the way out. Tony followed, barely making it halfway down the hallway before the water pushed so high, he had to take a quick breath and duck under the water somewhat thankful this wasn’t his only workout in two weeks.

It seemed a long way between the door and the welcome entrance to the ship, a lot longer than he remembered it being and as they rounded the corner past the lifts and floated out into the sea, Tony felt his lungs start to burn. He desperately wanted to take a deep breath of air, but he couldn’t. Letting out the last few bubbles of oxygen he gave a hard kick off the wall of the ship and followed Jethro to the surface. It seemed like a mile away when he finally broke water and gulped in a massive lungful of sea air.

Turning, he took a mystifying look at the ship, on its side, the huge expanse of the top of their cruise liner seemed like a horrible demon, dark and magical in the middle of the night and the only lights around were from crew members with flash lights and the odd flare that rose into the ink black sky. It took him a moment to realize the waves had calmed and the rain had stopped, and the moment of sweet relief only lasted a second before it sank in that it was too late.

“Tony,” Ziva said, making him jump and he turned as she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him. He had to pull her off quick for fear of sinking back under the water.

“Where’s the lifeboat, McGee?” Jethro asked. Tony turned, looking around, there were a few boats, inflatable’s that had been opened out and were rowing away from the ship. Much like the Titanic movie demonstrated, when the ship sank, it would suck down anything in range, so they’d picked up passengers quickly and moved away.

“I couldn’t get one,” McGee stammered. “They’re in boxes along the railing of the ship, I needed air and...”

“I’ll go,” Jethro offered. It was then that Tony noticed Kate hadn’t moved over to her husband, but had stayed with Abby. He managed to catch the flicker of pain that passed over her face before she turned away.

“No,” Tony said, stopping Jethro from vanishing under the water. “I’ll go. You...”

Jethro didn’t wait and quickly vanished under the water. It felt like a lifetime, seconds seemed to last for minutes as they waited. He kept steeling glances at Kate, who had taken to treading water a few feet away, her eyes seeing nothing out over the ocean as she’d stubbornly refused to wait for him to come back and wouldn’t be able to stomach the site of the sinking ship. He let his mind wonder back to what she’d done for his marriage, he wanted to do something, knock some sense into Jethro before everything fell apart in her world.

_North Atlantic Ocean – Day 3, 22:39  
On board The Destiny – Top Deck  
After dinner Tony left Ziva in the room watching a movie and wandered out to one of the decks. He was still dressed in his dressier clothes from dinner and was glad. The tropical air had taken on a slight chill. He leaned against the railing and looked out at the ocean. Off in the distance he could make out the lights of the island that they would be docking at tomorrow. He had already promised Ziva that he would take her scuba diving. He heard heels clicking behind him and turned around to see who else was out on deck. It was Kate, still dressed from dinner with a wrap around her shoulders._

_“Can I join you?” she asked. Tony smiled and held out his arm. Kate placed herself under it and snuggled into his chest. He squeezed her shoulder and they both silently watched the water. “Do you love her?” Kate asked out of the blue. Tony pulled away from her slightly so he could look her in the face._

_“Oh course I love her,” Tony said, a bit stunned by the question._

_“I can see what you’re doing, trying to push her away,” Kate said, moving out from under his arm completely. “All you’re doing is hurting her. Tony, you have to get over whatever fear it is you have. She loves you, she wants to fight for you, and all you do is make a half assed attempt.” Tony was stunned silent by Kate’s speech. She pulled a piece of sketchbook paper out from under her wrap and pushed it into Tony’s hand. “She loves you,” Kate whispered and then walked away. Tony unfolded the piece of paper and looked at it. It was a sketch that Kate had drawn, obviously, of Ziva from that afternoon in her bikini. She looked gorgeous. Tony’s stomach clenched and he leaned up against the railing once again. He didn’t know what to do, and that scared him._

~*~

_Washington Dulles International Airport – Day 1  
After having to turn around several times for forgotten things, Tony and Ziva finally made it to the airport. Tony hauled their bags to the checkout counter. The attendant looked at him with eyebrows raised, but from the pissed look on Tony’s face she didn’t say anything. Once their bags were checked they made their way through security slowly and then finally onto their gate. Jethro and Kate were already there, sitting in a corner quietly. Jethro had a cup of coffee in hand and Kate was reading a book. There were two empty seats on either side of them. Tony sat down next to Kate and kissed her on the cheek, while Ziva sat down next to Jethro, who also kissed her on the cheek. Kate put her book away and began talking to Tony in hushed tones, while Ziva and Jethro just sat there, watching the old friends converse. Jethro was pretty sure that Kate wouldn’t tell Tony about their problems, but he happened to know that they were having problems of their own. He could tell just by the way that they looked at each other, and the look on Ziva’s face. She may look like she was smiling, but Jethro could see that she was tormented._

_They still had about an hour before their flight began boarding. Jethro excused himself for more coffee and Kate, done talking to Tony, scooted over to Jethro’s vacant seat and she and Ziva began chatting. Jethro had just gotten back from getting coffee when the disturbance happened. Their gate was located right off of the security checkpoint, which was where the disturbance was occurring. A man dressed in jeans and a dark sweatshirt, was being held by two TSA officers. Another TSA officer was looking through the man’s bag. All four turned around and watched with interest. The TSA officer who was rifling through the man’s bag paused for a second and then pulled out a gun. The gun in question was a Beretta PX4 Storm 9mm. The man began yelling about the right to protect himself as the TSA officers hauled him into a small room. A small shiver went through Kate’s spine and she involuntarily grabbed Jethro’s hand. He squeezed it reassuringly and smiled at her. It was a small smile, but a smile nonetheless._

_An hour later they were boarded and their carryon’s stored in the overhead compartment. Jethro and Kate were in the fourth row from the front of the plane and Tony and Ziva right behind them. They sat through the mandatory safety demonstration and the introduction from the caption. They began moving towards the runway. Ziva, who was seated at the window seat, as well as Kate, were looking out the window when they noticed another plane barreling down the runway that crossed the one they were on, with no signs of slowing down. Other passengers on their side of the plane had noticed the same thing. They watched with morbid fascination as the plane didn’t slow down and came nearer and nearer. Ziva reached behind her and grabbed onto Tony’s hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the stewardesses having a hurried, whispered conversation. Ziva was aware that the plane was backing up, out of the way of the oncoming plane, but not nearly fast enough. Someone further down the plane yelled._

_“IT’S GOING TO HIT US!”_

_Whispers and interest rushed through the plane. Ziva’s grip on Tony’s hand tightened as the plane came closer. Suddenly, just as it was about to hit them, the plane made liftoff and sailed over their own plane with maybe just a foot of clearance. Relieved sighs and cheers came from the other passengers and Ziva turned towards Tony and buried her face into his chest. Ziva had always had a small fear of flying, and her fear of this trip had just increased by the tenfold. Tony held her tightly and stroked her hair. Kate turned around to say something to Ziva, but didn’t once she saw what was going on behind her. Just then, the captain came over the intercom._

_“Ladies and gentlemen, we thank you for remaining calm during that incident. We will be taking off shortly.”_

_Finally their plane took off safely and they were in the air. Jethro had leaned his head back on the head on the headrest and had long since fallen asleep. Tony was engrossed in a James Bond movie that he was watching on his portable DVD player so Kate decided to turn around and talk to Ziva, who was reading a book._

_“Are you excited?” she asked. Ziva still had her fingers laced through Tony’s tightly, Kate noted, and was glad that the trip had already brought them closer, even under the circumstances._

_“I am excited to get off of this plane,” Ziva said, looking up from her book. Kate laughed. Just then, the captain came over the intercom again._

_“Ladies and Gentlemen, we are going to be flying through a storm and may encounter some turbulence. Please return your trays to their full upright position, store loose items, turn off all electronics, and fasten your seatbelts. Thank you.”_

_As he spoke, the fasten seatbelt light dinged and came on above them. Ziva motioned for Tony to take his headphones off and told him what was happening. He turned the DVD player off and stored it, as well as Ziva’s book, in the overhead compartment in their bags. When Tony sat back down, Ziva took his hand in her own again and squeezed tightly. Kate nudged Jethro awake and told him to fasten his safety belt, and he did._

_About ten minutes after the caption made his announcement, the plane lurched violently. Kate grabbed for Jethro’s hand. The plane shook again and Ziva buried her face in face in Tony’s chest the best she could. Kate, meanwhile, was fighting back nausea to the max. Normally it wouldn’t have bothered her, but with the pregnancy, she had been feeling queasy about everything lately._

_Suddenly, the plane started shaking and didn’t stop. The air masks fell from the ceiling and a stewardess came on the overhead this time. “Ladies and gentlemen, please do not be alarmed. The air masks were simply shaken loose. There is no cause to put them on. We will be landing shortly.”_

_The turbulence continued until they landed. Ziva was practically to tears and Kate was a ghastly shade of white. Jethro and Tony grabbed all of the bags and led the two women off of the plane._


	9. Chapter 9

Miami International Airport – Day 1  
Queasy wasn’t a word Kate liked that much, but it was definitely fitting to her current feelings. Feet back on the ground after the bumpy and eventful trip, Kate found herself holding tight to Ziva as her friend guided her to a chair and dropped down into the next one.

“You okay?” Ziva asked. Kate nodded and instantly wished she hadn’t, she wasn’t the only one feeling bad, there were a few who hadn’t even managed to depart the plane yet.

“As soon as the room stops spinning.”

“We’ll get the bags,” Tony said turning away and waiting for Jethro to follow, Kate looked up at them for a moment, noting the touch of worry on her husband’s face and nodded softly. As the guys moved away Kate turned to Ziva and accepted the bottle of water.

“I don’t think I thought this through completely.”

“What do you mean?” Ziva asked.

“Well, so far I’ve managed to avoid having morning sickness in front of Jethro,” Kate said. “But I’ve never been affected by turbulence before, so what’s it going to be like on a ship?”

“Well then at least you can pass it off as sea sickness,” Ziva said with a grin that made Kate chuckle.

By the time the guys returned with their luggage, Kate was starting to feel normal again and was ready to after a trip to the bathroom. Stepping out the airport Jethro moved them to a line of cabs and started loading the bags into the back of one. It was a short trip to the pier and as the rows of boats came into view Kate and Ziva started to debate which one was theirs. Tony in the back seat with the ladies just rolled his eyes at the excited gabble and slipped his hand into Ziva’s. She turned to glance at him, giving him a smile before going back to their conversation.

~*~

North Atlantic Ocean – Day 1, On board The Destiny  
Getting onto the ship was relatively easy, almost like stepping through airport security and walking up a ramp to the vessel instead of out into the departure lounge. Ziva up front gave a whistle of wonder as she stepped into the entry way. The elaborate room was decorated tastefully, the elevators on either side of the room and a stairwell at the opposite end. Several members of the crew loitered around the room and as soon as she’d let out the whistle one of them turned and approached.

“Welcome aboard the Destiny,” the man greeted and Kate and Ziva both grinned back at him as Jethro turned to examine the deck plan beside him. “May I see your tickets so I can direct you to your cabins?”

“You did bring them, right?” Tony joked in a low tone.

“We did,” Kate said, taking them from Jethro and handing them over. Ziva just scoffed at her husband and pulled their tickets from her pocket.

“All right, Mr. and Mrs. Gibbs and Mr. and Mrs. DiNozzo, you’re cabins are right next door to each other, one deck up towards the front of the ship. Would you like someone to show you the way?”

“Nope,” Jethro said before anyone else could answer. Instantly he moved away from the man and towards the stairs, both bags wheeled along behind him. Kate smiled at the man as he handed the tickets to a key collector and quickly offered her their keys. She gave a quick and quiet “thanks” before moving to follow him down to the next deck and down one of the corridors towards the front of the ship. It wasn’t until he turned a corner that Kate couldn’t stop from asking if he knew the room numbers. Jethro just grinned back at her and stopped just around a corner.

“Why don’t our bags have wheels?” Tony said abruptly stopping before walking into Kate.

“Keys?” Jethro asked. Kate looked down at the envelopes she’d been handed. The first one said DiNozzo on it and she turned and handed it to Tony before opening her own. The key cards inside had their door numbers on the back and she moved over to the right door and swiped it as Tony did the same at the door next to her.

“Wow,” she said stepping through the entry way and into the main bedroom to look around. The room had red tone to it and bright lights, their bed was in the centre of the room, wardrobes between the bed and bathroom and a small bar and stools that someone could sit at with a surface. A table to one side under the windows with two comfortable chairs made her smile and she crossed the room to check out the bathroom.

Next door, Ziva stepped passed the entry into a red wood room with blue carpet. The windows where already open, letting the air in and she took a seat on one of the white chairs in front of it before looking at the room. The bed in the middle of the room sat opposite the wardrobes, the bathroom was on the other side and she could see the large tub through its open door. A small table to one side gave them another place to site. Getting up, she walked back through the entry and out into the corridor before moving to the next room and taking a look in Kate and Jethro’s room.

“Huh,” she said, making Jethro jump slightly. “I thought these rooms would be identical.”

“They’re not?” Kate asked, emerging from the bathroom. She crossed the room and vanished out with Ziva.

“I’ll just unpack,” Jethro called after them.

North Atlantic Ocean – Day 13, 05:19  
Kate wanted to the cling to that memory for as long as she possibly could. The day they had left, after checking their bags and getting into the cab, she’d been excited. She’d been just as excited once they were on board the ship. The Destiny had been the first ship, the one going out to the island. She’d practically bounced around their room and Ziva and Tony’s room picking out the differences and unpacking their things – well Jethro unpacked, she buzzed around exploring the room and opening random drawers.

Now though, she just wanted to cry. It was still dark, though they knew without a doubt that it was somewhere in the early hours of the morning. No one had a watch on to tell for sure though. The Miracle, their home trip ship had sunk about an hour or so ago and the wave that had followed it had pushed them so far away from the sight they could no longer see the other life boats or any debris from the cruise liner. They’d picked up a couple of other passengers though, a woman and her daughter, who were currently curled together in the middle of the boat.

She couldn’t sleep, and she was willing to bed that Ziva wasn’t asleep either. Her friend had refused to curl up with Tony when Jethro had taken to sitting one side of the dingy and searching the horizon for signs of rescue or survivors. When he’d said nothing to Abby’s suggestion that they try and sleep, Ziva had given Tony a look that could only be translated as ‘if you think I’m sleeping with you while Kate stays alone, think again’. Instead, she’d moved over to where Kate had curled up and lay down behind her. But all Kate had done for the last few hours is think about how things had gone from bad to worse.

She hadn’t told Jethro she was pregnant, she’d been afraid of him reacting exactly as he was now. The silent treatment was far from pleasant and it scared her into thinking he’d never talk to her again. The last week and half was the last of her good times with him and when they were rescued she’d find herself packing her bags and heading to her parents. The thought alone stung, then her brain would add the fact that Jethro would be down in the basement with his stupid boat while she left him. Kate reached up and wiped a stray tear away and almost jumped when Ziva’s hand started to rub at her arm.

“One day,” Ziva whispered. “Men will learn that we are the best thing that could ever happen to them. Then they will have to bow down and worship us.”

“Do we get to chain them to the walls?” Abby asked, and Kate turned to see her lying along the side of the boat with her head nearest to them.

“I’ll be happy burning Jethro’s boat,” Kate offered with a slight tinge of pride in the thought. “He’s always down working on that thing.”

“Didn’t think it bothered you.” Ziva said.

“It didn’t. For some reason I hate everything right now. This stupid rubber boat, the Destiny we came out on, the Miracle. The vacation,” she added the last one almost silently. “Wish I hadn’t seen that poster.”

“Well if you’re gonna wish that, you might as well wish we’d picked a different restaurant that day.”

“No, if I’m gonna wish that then I’m gonna wish I’d had that horrible birth control implant. Or that I’d married a younger man.”

“You don’t wish that,” Ziva said knowingly. She was right, Kate wouldn’t trade Leroy Jethro Gibbs for the world. Even if she came to hate him, she’d still be in love with him and that confused the hell out of her.

“I just wish he’d talk to me, tell me why he doesn’t want kids. Might be able to figure out a way around it.”

“Maybe he thinks he’s too old,” Abby offered. Kate shook her head.

“No, he wouldn’t have an issue telling me that was the problem. It’s something else.”

“No offence or anything, but why did you marry an older man?”

“After dating Tony in collage for a year and putting up with his frat brothers no woman would date a man her own age again.”

“Hey,” Ziva protested.

“You got the slightly matured version I left behind.”

“You’re talking about me,” Tony said from the other side of the boat. “I can sense it.”

“His spider sense tingling.” Abby said causing both Ziva and Kate to chuckle.

“Sun’s coming up,” McGee said.

“Well done, McObservant.” Tony said moving onto his back and making the dingy rock a little. “How long exactly can someone go without food or water?”

Silence fell for a moment and Kate wondered if the answer would be different for her. Would her baby dying of thirst and starvation cut her time in half?

“About three days,” McGee said quietly. “You’d die of dehydration before anything else.”

Kate shuddered and Ziva’s arm dropped over her waist to pull her closer. If everyone else here could go three days, she’d be dead by the end of the day, or the middle of tomorrow. The thought made her brain numb and all thoughts vanished for several long quiet minutes.

“There’s land.” Jethro pointed and everyone sat up and looked. Off in the distance there was a shadow of an island. Ziva found Kate’s hand and squeezed it.

“Everything will be fine,” she whispered. Kate wiped away her tears and tried to smile. Tony, Jethro, and McGee picked up the paddles that were in the bottom of the boat and began paddling towards the island. The girls regrouped around the mother daughter and they were all silent with anticipation as the outline of the island became clearer and clearer. 

Finally, they reached the beach and the women got out while the men dragged the boat up on the beach, far away from where the tide would reach it. They then huddled together on the beach, not saying much. The sun was beginning to rise on the horizon and the sweltering heat was already becoming evident, a huge contrast from the night before. Jethro spoke, breaking the silence. 

“We need to find shelter, food, and fresh water. Everyone should remain paired up at all times. Tony, you come with me and we’ll look for shelter. McGee, take Ziva and look for food and water. Kate,” he trailed off. 

"We'll just stay here with the boat,'' Kate said, motioning to the mother daughter duo next to her. The teams took off and Kate sunk down onto the sand. The mother and daughter sat down next to her while Abby took up a spot on her other side.

“I’m Mary,” the woman said, offering her hand. Kate took it and they shook. “This is my daughter, Penny.”

“I would say nice to meet you, but I don’t think it’s the best of circumstances right now,” Kate said, a half smile on her face. 

“How do you know everyone?” Mary asked as she smooth a piece of hair away from her daughter’s face.

“Well, Jethro is my husband,” Kate said, her stomach sinking at the word. “And I’ve known Tony since college. Ziva is his wife. McGee and Abby, we just met them, on the ship. They were part of the crew.”

“Penny and I were on vacation. It’s the first thing we’ve done together, away from everything, since I lost my husband,” Mary said. Kate reached out to touch her hand.

“I’m so sorry,” Kate said.

“He was a Marine, he was killed in Iraq. Land mine,” Mary said, tears coming to her eyes. “Penny and I, we just needed to get away from it all. Doesn’t look like we succeeded.”


	10. Chapter 10

Island, North Atlantic Ocean – Day 13, 06:27  
As Tony and Jethro made their way through the dense jungle, Tony was debating whether or not to say something to Jethro about Kate. She was obviously upset over Jethro’s reactions, and Tony hated to see her hurt. 

“Jethro,” Tony began. Jethro stopped walking and turned around to look at him. 

“What, DiNozzo?” Jethro asked, and Tony could tell that he was aggravated.

“It’s just that, I don’t think you’re being very fair to Kate.” Tony said. “She’s young, she wants a baby. She’s wanted a baby forever. I can remember in school when she’d talk about names. She’s wanted this for a very long time, and you’re making her feel bad about it.” Jethro rounded on Tony, coming in very close to his face.

“Do you know why, I don’t want kids, DiNozzo? It’s because this world is a place where I would never want to raise my children. Where you have to live in fear for your life, where people kill each other over things like money and drugs. I don’t want them growing up in a world where there are more kids in juvenile detention centers than in school. This world is an ugly place, and I don’t want to raise a child in it,” Jethro said. He turned back around and began walking away from Tony. Tony ran forward and grabbed his arm and made him look at him. 

“You are going to have to bring a child up in this world, and you’re just going to have to teach him or her what’s right. Children can only be as good as their parents, and personally, I think this child is going to have the best damn parents ever. So, why don’t you think about that the next time you look at Kate.” Tony stormed off, back towards the beach, leaving Jethro standing there, in the jungle to think about what he had just said.

~*~

Island, North Atlantic Ocean – Day 13, 06:32  
McGee and Ziva trekked through the jungle, and it was then that McGee noticed she was limping. 

“Ziva, are you okay?” he asked, trying to stop her from walking. She shook his hand off. 

“I am fine, McGee. We need to keep going. We need to find food and water,” Ziva said. They walked in silence for a few minutes until McGee spoke.

“So how long have you been married to Tony?” McGee asked.

“Do you really think that’s any of your business, McGee?” Ziva retorted. She was in a bad mood; their ship had sunk, her best friend was in emotional pain, and she had cut her knee on the ship and hadn’t told anyone. After a few more minutes of silence, Ziva answered his question. “Five years.”

“How did you meet?” McGee asked. Ziva closed her eyes, and remembered. 

_May 5th, 2002 – Washington DC  
Ziva was rushing, she was in a hurry. She was late for her interview, and she still needed to swing by her pharmacy before they closed to pick up her allergy meds. Not paying attention, she attempted to answer her phone while crossing the street. She was just about to step off the curb when she dropped her phone and someone in front of her picked it up; she looked. He was obviously a cop, she could see the outline of his shoulder holster under his jacket, and his badge was barely visible at his hip. He held the phone out and he smiled. It was brilliant. He had warm looking green eyes and his hair was sticking up messily all over the place. _

_“I believe this is yours,” he said, still holding the phone out to her. She took it from his hands and dropped it inside her purse, phone call forgotten._

_“Thank you,” she finally stammered. He laughed._

_“Are you okay?” he asked. She finally managed to make her mouth smile._

_“Yes, I am running very late.”_

_“Well, allow me to give you a lift,” he said, pointing to an unmarked car up the street slightly. “I can show you my credentials if you like.”_

“Three months later we were in love,” Ziva said, finishing the story. “It took him a while to propose, but I didn’t mind. Look, over there,” Ziva said, deviating from her story and pointing. A few feet away were some trees which had some fruit hanging off of them. Next to the trees was a small stream. Ziva walked over and dipped her finger in it and tasted. “It’s fresh,” she told McGee. They collected some fruit and made their way back to the beach.

~*~

Island, North Atlantic Ocean – Day 13, 06:56  
It took a few minutes before Jethro turned and followed Tony back to the beach, their idea of finding shelter completely gone, at least for now. When he stepped out into the clearing and looked around he saw everyone except Ziva, McGee and Kate. He turned, spotting Abby a few feet away pacing in front of the tree line muttering to herself. He quirked a brow before stepping closer.

“You okay?” 

“Fine,” Abby replied. “Just working the adrenalin off before I do something crazy.”

Jethro couldn’t help but smile, the idea of someone who talked to themselves to stop from being crazy was crazy in itself. But with Abby, the way she dressed and seemed to be constantly hyper, it seemed to work.

“Have you seen Kate?”

“Down the beach a little, said she needed time to herself.” Abby said pointing down the beach behind him.

Jethro turned, walking slowly down the beach to where Kate sat. Before he got too close she reached up and wiped the tears away. It hit him like a train, he’d done that, made her cry, hurt her in more ways than he’d probably be able to comprehend and he’d done it to be selfish. Sure, he was a little worried that he was an old man, but he couldn’t deny that he had never felt old around Kate. She’d joke about his age, and his hair, but she’d never made him fell like he was his actual age. He knew Tony was right, the world didn’t make the people; he could teach his children anything he wanted. Careful not to make Kate jump, he moved closer and dropped down onto the sand beside her.

“Do you remember our first day on the ship?” Jethro asked sitting down on the sand next to Kate. She didn’t really feel like answering, it was a silly question, it had only been a week or so ago, she remembered it like it was yesterday.


	11. Chapter 11

_North Atlantic Ocean – Day 2, 22:39  
On board The Destiny  
Kate didn’t really feel up to doing anything in particular for the first day. She’d never admit to Jethro, for obvious reasons, but she felt horrible, she needed a day or two to get her sea legs on and she would have been fine just lazing in their room and sleeping it off, but Jethro wasn’t the sort to sit still unless he had a boat to build. After breakfast, during which Jethro watched her closely, he guided her down to the shopping deck and they wondered the high street for a while looking in windows and talking about nothing in particular._

_For some reason, the people staring at them down there bothered her. The staff of the ship where good enough to just let it go, but other guests who were milling around doing a bit of shopping would stop and stare and she heard one woman ask her husband what she saw in the man on her arm. It had never bothered her before, had never cared if people stared or commented on their age difference, but here for some reason it bugged her. And Jethro seemed to realize it and steered her off to the side to sit on a bench for a moment._

_“You used to tell me to ignore them,” he offered, pulling her close and kissing her lips._

_“Haven’t gotten used to the sea life yet,” she offered in way of explanation. “Don’t feel 100% right now, I guess that’s why I’m noticing them, too distracted.”_

_In truth, she knew the idea that he didn’t want kids was playing on her mind, if it was because he was too old, then it would be worse when they were pushing a baby around, him on his own people would assume the child was a grandchild and not his son or daughter. It made her heart sink to think he thought himself too old to do something like that with her and it scared the life out of her that she’d loose him because she was already pregnant. She pushed the thought and the want to run away and cry to the side and pulled him back to his feet._

_“Maybe if we walk around a little, I’ll get used to it,” she offered._

_They stopped at the day’s events list posted at the end of the promenade to see if there was anything they could do that didn’t require too much effort or too much movement, but found nothing of interest, just a pool challenge day that they could stop and watch for a while._

_Giving up on finding something to do, they wondered around the decks, looking into community rooms as they went. They found the library, a computer room, the sports area where you could rock climb and such and the entertainment hall where they were setting up for the evening show. They had lunch at a cafe at the front of the ship up on the deck before wondering from one end of the ship and back again, stopping now and again to check the scenery and look at what there was to do there. They paused at the pool to watch a fighting tournament and passed Tony and Ziva with a wave as they moved on._

_Kate started to feel better by mid afternoon, but still Jethro kept their walk slow and easy, his arm around her waist and made sure they stopped for a break every now and again. She hadn’t felt more loved than she did then and she wondered how sour that feeling would go if and when she told him she was pregnant. She just kept reminding herself, she hadn’t done it on purpose, these things just happened._

_As the sun started to set, they made their way back to their cabin, washed and changed and headed out to meet Tony and Ziva for dinner._

Island, North Atlantic Ocean – Day 13, 07:15  
“You know what I wanted to do that morning?” he asked nudging her shoulder. “I wanted to get up really early, drag to up on deck and watch the sun rise.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I was awake for it,” he admitted. “I turned over, took one look at you and couldn’t bring myself to wake you. Never have been able to disturb you when you look so beautiful.” Kate smiled and Jethro turned back to the horizon, the sun was only halfway passed it, they’d missed the best part, but it was still beautiful to watch. He waited only a moment before slipping his arm around her, pulling her close and kissing her cheek. “You know what I see every day at work. It scares me that children get to see that, that all they talk about on the news is the horror that goes on out there.”

“We can’t shelter everyone from it, not even our children.”

“No,” Jethro agreed. “We can’t. But we can teach them that if they let it happen to them, or they make it happen, then they’ll only be hurting those who want to make it better. That they’ll be making all those paintings and sketches you do a lie.” Kate reached up and wiped at her cheek again.

“Does that mean you’re okay with this?”

“It means I’m not willing to let you go,” he said. “I love you too much to let this end over a baby I once wanted. I just need to find a way to want it again.” He felt her shift at his side. “I’m putting a limit on how many,” he said teasingly and Kate let out a short laugh.

“Six?” Kate said. He quirked a brow.

“Lower.”

“Five.” She said and Jethro laughed.

“Let’s just start with one.” He offered. Kate smiled and settled in against him. “Do you think we’ll get rescued?”

“I hope so, there’s no way I’m letting McGee or DiNozzo birth our first kid... or any others for that matter.” That was the least of his worries, but he wasn’t willing to let any of them sink in just yet. It was still early, they’d only been lost for a few hours and there was plenty of time for a rescue party to find them.

Kate and Jethro’s thoughts were interrupted by a yelling McGee running out of the jungle carrying a limp Ziva in his arms.

“Help,” he yelled. “Something’s wrong!” Tony was the first to get to McGee, and he pulled his wife out of McGee’s arms and laid her down on the sand.

“What happened?” he asked as he looked her over. She was pale as death and it looked like she was sweating. 

“We were talking, looking for food, and she looked like she was limping and then she just collapsed. I don’t know what’s wrong with her,” McGee said. Mary approached Tony and put her arm on his shoulder.

“I’m a nurse,” she offered. A few feet away, Abby stood, watching on, while holding Penny, who had her eyes squeezed closed. Tony moved so Mary could look at Ziva, while everyone circled around her. “Did anything happen to her on the ship? Did she injure herself at all?” Mary asked after a few moments. 

“She fell, on the ship, when we opened the second door, I helped her stand back up,” Jethro recalled. Mary gently pushed Tony out of the way and rolled up Ziva’s pant leg. Right below her knee was a red, swollen gash. Tony and Kate gasped simultaneously.

“It’s infected,” Mary said grimly as she examined it. As she touched it, Ziva moaned and Tony reached up to squeeze her hand. Mary turned to McGee. “On our lifeboat, is there a first aid kit?” McGee nodded. “Go get it.” McGee ran off towards the boat. Mary turned to look at Jethro. “When he gets back, you need to go find freshwater. Kate, start collecting wood for a fire. We’ll have to boil the water somehow first.” 

McGee came running back, a large white box in his hands. Mary took it from him and opened it. Inside was an array of bandages, hydrogen peroxide, 5 water bottles, and a small bottle of Tylenol. Mary took the bottle of Tylenol and shook two out.

“She needs to take this,” Mary said to Tony. Tony nodded and shook Ziva gently.

“Sweetcheeks, you need to take this medicine,” Tony said. Ziva’s eyes opened wide, her pupils dilated, and she slapped Tony across the face.

“Get away from me,” she hissed. “Cheater.” Tony looked over at Mary, helpless. 

“She’s hallucinating,” Mary said. Kate approached Ziva and kneeled down onto the sand next to her.

“Ziva,” Kate said, quietly. “Take the pills.” Ziva opened her mouth for Kate and allowed her to place the pills inside her mouth. Kate held the bottle of water up to her lips and Ziva swallowed. 

“Keep him away from me,” Ziva whispered to Kate. Kate smoothed the hair down and kissed her forehead. 

“Oh Ziva.”

~*~

Island, North Atlantic Ocean – Day 15, 05:57  
Two days later and Ziva wasn’t any better. She was still feverish, and still believed that Tony was cheating on her. They had been giving her water and Tylenol but she showed no improvement. Mary had been sure to clean and change her bandages frequently.

Jethro and McGee had found some tropical fruit and a clean, fresh water stream from which they had been eating and drinking, although Mary had warned them against it. They had managed to start, and keep a fire going, and luckily, it hadn’t rained again.

In the early hours of the third morning, the heavenly sounds of helicopter blades could be heard. Jethro and Tony woke up instantly and looked up into the sky. Several Coast Guard helicopters were flying around the surrounding ocean and one was hovering over the island, and the pilot was pointing and talking. Jethro reached over and shook Kate awake.

“Kate,” he said. Her eyes fluttered opened and she looked at him sleepily.

“What?” she asked. He didn’t say anything, just simply pointed up. “We’re saved,” she breathed.

After what seemed like forever, but was actually a few minutes, a helicopter landed on the far end of the beach. The co-pilot jumped out and ran towards them. 

“I have instructions to take anyone who needs medical attention first. Another helicopter will be here shortly for the rest of you.” Jethro turned to Kate.

“You go with Ziva,” he said as Tony talked to pilot and motioned towards Ziva.

“But,” Kate started to protest, but Jethro placed his finger up to her lips. 

“You fall under the category of needing immediate medical attention. You’re pregnant. You need to get taken first as much as Ziva does.” Jethro took her arm and pulled her over to the pilot, who was putting Ziva onto a backboard. “She needs to go too, she’s pregnant.” The pilot nodded and he and Tony picked Ziva’s backboard up and headed for the helicopter.

As the helicopter took off, Kate looked down onto the beach at Jethro, who blew her a kiss. She sighed and turned away from the window. She was safe, they were safe, and that was all she really needed.


	12. Chapter 12

Seven months later – Washington, DC  
Jethro edged up to the corner of the wall, his gun ready and Tony close on his heels. He could hear the people talking around the corner, the trade being made and his moment of swinging around to arrest them ticking closer by the second. He turned his head and peeked quickly at the scene, making a sweep to count the deals guards, and as he turned back, the phone in his pocked started buzzing against his leg.

“Not now,” he breathed. There was only one option for whom it could be, Kate. Work knew he was on the bust, Tony was beside him and Kate wouldn’t call unless it was urgent and recently, urgent meant baby.

“What?” Tony asked as the phone stopped vibrating.

“Nothing,” Jethro said turning his attention back to the drug trade. He indicated to Tony a countdown for them to go in and as he started it, the phone buzzed again. He hesitated, this was his only chance to catch these guys in the act and his wife picked now to have their baby.

“Boss,” Tony hissed and he realized their time was up. Jethro nodded and they swung around the corner simultaneously, weapons forward.

“Freeze,” Tony shouted. “Metropolitan Police Department. Put your hands up.”

Predictably the guys turned and tried to run, but found themselves faced with a few other cops. Instantly Jethro lost interested and turned back to the alleyway, his hand going straight for his pocket he looked at the missed calls, he was about to dial when the phone buzzed and picture of Ziva flashed up on the scene.

“Yeah,” he said.

“What took you so long? Never mind, we’re heading for the hospital.” Ziva said testily.

“Already?”

“You said don’t call until it was time, that mean’s when you have half an hour to get your butt to the hospital – which is now.”

“How long as she…”

“All morning,” Ziva said. “Seems to be an impatient baby, I wonder where that comes from…”

Jethro flipped the phone shut before she finished, grabbed Tony’s arm and dragged him towards the car.

“Hospital, you drive,” he said and moved around the car to get in the passenger seat.

“Whoo, baby time,” Tony said, giving Jethro a silly grin. Jethro gave him a look of death before reaching over for his seatbelt. Tony quickly started the car.

~*~

“Where is he?” Kate screamed as the contraction rippled through her abdomen. The epidural wasn’t doing much to numb it and she hoped it would kick in quickly. Very quickly.

“He’ll be here,” Ziva said dabbing her forehead with a cool cloth. For a moment a shudder of relief passed over her, she felt like she was on fire, stomach out and having her feet strapped in place and doctors down there wasn’t her idea of a moment to remember.

“Okay Caitlin, you’re fully dilated, gonna start pushing soon,” the doctor said, her head coming up to nod at the nurse and give her an encouraging smile.

Kate whimpered and closed her eyes, the pain was still in full force, the pain killers doing nothing to help her and Jethro wasn’t there. There was a moment of peace, the movement around her settled and Ziva tightened her hand around Kate’s as they seemed to wait with baited breath. The door swung open, banging against the wall and Jethro was at her side in seconds.

“What took you so long,” she shouted at him.

“Ziva waited too long, I was on the other side of town.”

“You don’t have sirens?” Ziva asked sarcastically and quickly turned away as Jethro turned towards her.

“I’m here,” he said, leaning down to kiss her forehead, his hand coming to rest on her stomach. “I didn’t miss it.”

~*~

Tony tapped his feet and looked around the room, there were a few other people lingering, waiting for a friend or loved one to come out and tell them the news. Was it a boy or a girl, had the doctor guessed wrong. More frustrating was the fact that Kate had told the doctors neither she nor Jethro wanted to know the sex of their baby, which Tony knew was true for her, but not the old man, and it was far from true for him. Even if it wasn’t his kid, he wanted to know he was buying pink or blue things – Ziva had settled on white and green. He tapped his feet again and looked at his watch.

“How longs it take?”

“Are you going to be this impatient when it is us?”

“No,” Tony said honestly. “I’ll be in there with you pulling my limbs off.”

“Oh so you want to go through it, even with me pulling your limbs off.”

“Well yeah,” Tony admitted and stood up to pull her close. “What man wouldn’t want to watch his beautiful wife get fat, and bloated, and… OW! What was that for?”

“I’m pregnant, Tony.”

“What? Really?”

“Yes,” she said matter-of-factly. “So, you better get used to me being cranky, and fat, bloated, and whatever else you were gonna say.”

Tony grinned and tightened his grip around her waist. He waited just a moment before leaning in and kissing her softy. “I was gonna say cranky, so thank you for proving my point… OW!” Ziva swatted him on the shoulder a second time and turned as the door opened.

“Hey,” Jethro said, looking up from the bundle in his arms for just a second. Ziva moved away first, stepping over to look down at the silent baby shifting in his arms. “Meet Kelly Gibbs.”


End file.
